Frequently Asked Questions

1. PMS (Practice Management Software or Patient Management System) - What is it?

PMS (Practice Management Software or Patient Management System):

PMS is software that can be developed or purchased from software vendors. PMS software may track bookings and appointments, treatments delivered and patient history, as well as facilitating the creation and submission of invoices and/or other claims forms.

Click here for a list of companies that have indicated an intention to "integrate" their software with HCAI.

Important: Health facilities that integrate with HCAI through PMS will still need to use the HCAI web application to add health providers and update health facility information. Also, if your PMS integrates for invoices only, you will still need to use the web application to submit other OCFs (18, 22 and 23).

2. What are the Software requirements for integrating with HCAI?

For PMS Vendors who are using the Toolkit, the Windows operating system is required. If the PMS Integration is implemented using web services and published schema, then other operating systems can be used. Connectivity to the internet is also required.

3. What is the URL for HCAI web services for integration?

There are two urls for integration with HCAI. One is used for testing and the other is used for the production. PMS Vendors who have signed the Non-Disclosure Agreement are sent a package of information and the Implementation Guide contains the details.

4. Is there a separate URL for HCAI web services for test and production?

Yes, Production and Test (Staging) environments are separate and have separate urls. Please see the Implementation Guide for details.

5. After going live, if there are some more changes, how do the PMS Vendors test the changes for HCAI Integration before moving the changes to the production environment ? Is there a permanent test environment set up?

A test environment will always be available for PMS Vendors to test their own enhancements or to test for specific changes.

6. When will the XSDs be finalised? When will the toolkit be finalized?

The PMS Toolkit release published on the 31^st July 2009 is the production release and is no longer a "Beta Version".

7. For sending data to HCAI, is only one batch allowed per day or are multiple batches allowed?

Multiple batches or multiple requests are allowed.

8. How secure is the transmission of the HCAI Data?

All data is encrypted using SSL encryption.

9. Are digital certificates required for integration with HCAI?

Digital certificates are not required for PMS Integration. Authentication is based on user-id and password.

10. Is the requirement to use HCAI mandatory for health care facilities?

No. Health care facilities are NOT required to enrol with HCAI. It is anticipated that at some time in the future, HCAI enrollment may become mandatory, but this is a decision that will be made by FSCO and posted on the HCAI Information website.

11. Is PMS integration mandatory or optional for health care facilities?

Integration with PMS is not mandatory.

Need help? Technical problems?

Click here to contact PMS Vendors Support.